Tulsa school board adopts policy to bar discriminatory branding, orders review of Webster and Central imagery

The Tulsa Public Schools Board of Education on Monday voted to adopt a districtwide policy prohibiting discriminatory school branding and authorized the superintendent to oversee a process to revise Native American–themed imagery at Webster and Central high schools.

The board approved the new branding policy, identified in the agenda as policy 02/2023, and separately voted to authorize revisions to Webster’s visual imagery and to direct the superintendent to develop replacement imagery for both Webster and Central pending stakeholder input and later board approval.

The votes followed more than an hour of public comment. Supporters of the policy included current and former Tulsa Public Schools students, parents and representatives of the district’s Indian education program, who described the existing mascots and artwork as demeaning or reductive. Opponents, including alumni organizations and other community members, said the warrior and braves identities are longstanding symbols of local pride and asked the board to preserve school names and history.

“I will be addressing the agenda item concerning the policy that will prohibit the use of Native mascot imagery at Webster and Central High School,” said Teresa Parker, an Indian education resource advisor and a 14-year educator in the district. Parker described personal experiences with bullying she attributed to stereotyped imagery and urged the board to approve the policy so Native students can “learn in a positive and healthy environment.”

Nico Berlin, a recent Tulsa Public Schools graduate and former member of the Tulsa Native Youth Board, told the board the policy is necessary to protect Native students from caricatures he said erase tribal history. “These mascots erase our humanity as we amalgamate into a doll for your football games,” Berlin said.

Several speakers urged a careful, inclusive process. Superintendent Doctor Johnson said the district will lead listening sessions with the Indian Education Department and other stakeholders. Johnson announced public input meetings scheduled for Sept. 30 and Oct. 28 at 6 p.m. in the Selman Room and said the process would be open to students, alumni, parents and community members.

Opponents argued the imagery is part of long-established school history and identity. “The warrior name and emblem hold deep cultural and historic meaning,” said a representative of Webster alumni during public comment, who said the emblem was created by a Webster student in 1939 and that alumni collected petitions in favor of keeping the name and mascot.

Board members who supported the actions said they did not intend to change the team names. “The recommendation is to not change the name Central Braves nor Webster Warriors,” Superintendent Johnson reiterated during board discussion, adding that the proposals concern imagery, not the school names.

Board members split on some votes. The record shows Ms. Ashley voted no on one motion to authorize replacement imagery; other board members present voted aye. The superintendent and the district Indian education team will present replacement imagery options to the board at a future meeting after the stakeholder process.

The board said it expects the stakeholder process to produce imagery that honors tribal history and reduces harms cited by Native students and families. The district will post dates and meeting details on the Tulsa Public Schools website.

The board also heard broader public comment about transparency and the meeting sign-in process; one speaker said some patrons were initially prevented from signing up to speak on the mascot items and asked staff to ensure fair sign-in procedures going forward.

The board’s actions do not immediately remove names or rename schools; they establish a policy and a process for revising visual imagery and direct staff to return to the board with proposed replacement imagery for approval.